Smashed Mirror
by laurennjenks
Summary: Smashed mirrors. Grindylows. A missing twin. The day of Fred's Funeral arrives


Writing for Quidditch Fanfiction league. Round 4.

Team- Wigtown Wanderers

Position- Chaser 1

Emotion= Sadness

Prompts- 3. (word) Burst

8\. (Dialogue) "I've never felt this way before."

10\. (quote)'Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions' - Dalai Lama

George was sat with his back against a large oak tree, looking out onto the lake. He couldn't bring himself to go and find everyone else, who were probably looking for him at that very moment. He didn't want to see everyone else. He wanted Fred. George put his head on his knees and breathed deeply. There were cuts across his knuckles but he was too numb to feel them.

 **** **...**

Back up at the castle, everyone began to gather in the great hall. The normally lively bunch of Weasleys, were solemn and quiet. Harry entered the hall and crossed over to where his girlfriend was whispering and nodding in response to her older brother Charlie. Harry frowned. Of all the days that something could go wrong, it had to be today.

"What's up, Gin?" Harry questioned, whilst pulling her into a long embrace.

"George hasn't come down yet, I need to go and get him, " she responded so quietly that only Harry had heard. Harry sighed and cupped Ginny's face.

"You sit down with your family, I'll go get George."

Ginny responded with a concerned look on your face.

"Gin, your family needs you right now, and George will be down in like ten minutes, I promise," Harry said gently. "He just needs a little time by himself today."

"He needs to be with us. Today is gonna be hard enough without him being alone."

Harry wiped the tear falling down Ginny's face and kissed her on her head before heading up to the Gryffindor tower. He had never seen the common room so silent. It was as if the tower itself was mourning the loss of its students.

"George!" called Harry, climbing the dormitory staircase. He entered the dormitory that George had stayed in the night before, only to find it empty. The mirror that hung on the tower wall was smashed. Glass pieces littered the floor, speckled with small amounts of blood. Harry sighed and headed back into the main tower, determined to find his friend.

 **...**

Hermione recognised the worry lines on Harry's face as he re-entered the great hall. She squeezed Ron's hand before rising from the table.

"What's happened?" she asked Harry.

"George is missing. The mirror was smashed up in the dormitory."

Hermione glanced over at the Weasleys, who were huddled together practically silent.

"Okay, this is the last thing they need to be worried about. Tell them he's coming down soon and I'll get some of the DA and the order together and organise a little search party."

 **** **...**

"Apparently the other Weasley twin is missing, " Kingsley told Professor Mcgonagall in hushed tones.

Mcgonagall sighed. She saw a few members of the DA discreetly leave the room. Not that the Weasley's would have noticed, they were all too numbed by their grief. Mcgonagall touched Kingsley's shoulder briefly before walking out of the great hall, the clicking of her shoes echoing around the room.

 **...**

Back down at the lake George was wondering how much goading it would take for a Grindylow to drag him under the water. He had a dull ache in his chest and felt sickness in his stomach. He heard footsteps crunch the grass behind him and braced himself for the onslaught of people saying 'It'll be okay'.

"You know that mirror was over fifty years old."

George blanched. Mcgonagall straightened her robe and sat down on the grass next to George.

"Sorry," George mumbled. "… I couldn't take… the reflection."

Mcgonagall felt a pang of sympathy strike her heart.

"I never liked those mirrors anyway," she stated simply. There was a long pause. "Did you know Albus and I had been best friends for a very long time?"

George shook his head.

"When he died, I'm ashamed to say, I lost all hope of winning this war. I thought to myself, how could I get through this if I didn't have him by my side?"

George strained his face. He was not going to cry.

"I'm not going to tell you that everything will be all right, and I'm not going to tell you that I know what you're going through, because I don't. No one can understand the bond that you and Fred shared. You were not only twins but you were each other's best friends. Two sides of the same galleon. Nobody can understand what this is like for you."

The floodgates opened. Tears burst from George's eyes. He wept into his hands.

"I've never felt like this before, I've never been so alone. How am I meant to do this without him?" he sobbed.

Sorrow and sympathy gripped Mcgonagall's heart. She pulled George into her shoulder and held him as he cried. George's sobs slowly calmed.

"How am I ever meant to be happy again without him?"

Mcgonagall looked down at George and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"A wise man once told me that happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. So you carry on. You make that business of yours into the most popular business in Diagon Alley. You live your life and you do everything you ever said you would. You make Fred proud."

"Are you ready Georgie?" Molly called from up on the hill.

George wiped the tears from his face and stood up. He stared determinedly at his old Professor.

"For Fred," he stated, with a curt nod. He walked up the bank to his family and put his arms around Charlie and Ginny. They walked towards the coffin of his twin, united in grief but determined to get through it together.


End file.
